Thursday, 27 September 2012

Star Fleet Terrain: That's no moon! Part 1/2

Wait, yes, it is. Phew! Back to my regular terrain-centred roots today, folks. I want a few more bits and pieces to decorate my starscapes, and to share this with those of you who fancy doing a spot of beautifying. I had a rummage round and found myself some balls that were hiding in drawers around the house. I know that a lot of folk swear by those polystyrene balls you can find in craft shops, but I'm a recycler first and foremost, so old golf, ping-pong and snooker balls are today's subjects, as well as some rather larger bits and pieces. Grab yourself some fine sand, Green Stuff or similar, PVA glue, polystyrene cement or superglue, water, an old brush, and some bases and stands.

Right, grab yourself a ball and secure it to a base of some sort. Use a bit of metal or a piece of plasticard rod to elevate the moonlet slightly. Glue the base to this, and secure the area around the support with some GS. Leave the concoction upside down. I surrounded my moons with paint pots so that they'd be all right until the glue and Greenstuff had set. Once this is done, mix some water with PVA and apply it to the moons. Then sprinkle fine sand over them. Wait for this to dry, then touch up any "bald" bits, and then secure the lot with some more dilute PVA. Once that has dried, you can undercoat the moon, and then get to work painting it.

Obviously, this sort of technique can be applied to all sorts of shapes and sizes for the gaming table. You can tear up some chunks of polystyrene to make asteroid fields, or use a small globe to make a large planet for your little ships to zap! and pew-pew! over and about. Next time I'll get these little fellows painted and place them on the table in the attic. Until then, folks, enjoy these WIP shots.